Ma Zhen

Life

In his youth, Ma Zhen modeled himself on Tao Hongjing (Tao Zhenbai), donned Daoist robes, and withdrew to the shore of West Lake. He is variously described as a Daoist, a Celestial Master, and a Hanlin Academician, while also being associated with a refusal to enter official service.

During the Dade era, the Celestial Master Zhang Yucai went to Yanjing to conduct an inner Daoist rite. Ma Zhen was among the assembled luminaries, but soon left and returned home. He also associated with Chu Xueyan and devoted himself to composing poetry.

Art and associations

He was skilled in painting flowers, birds, and landscapes, and his poetry was marked by a bold, unrestrained, and spirited quality. He personally painted the two works 《桑乾》 and 《龍門》, which were transmitted to the world.

His poetic exchanges included Zhang Zhu, Zhang Yu, Dong Sigao, Cao Liangshi, Xu Yan, and Chang Shiwen; he also wrote a sacrificial text for Shi Yuanxi and wrote colophons for paintings and writings by Qiu Yuan, Bai Ting, and Zhang Yan.

The collection 《霞外集》 received prefaces. Gong Shengyu judged it to encompass both ancient and modern poetic forms while remaining cultivated and elegant, and Qiu Renjin related its unusual literary force to the grandeur and energy of mountains and rivers and the refined beauty of West Lake, describing Ma's mind as broad and his writing as exceptional.

Huang Shiweng selected lines such as 「達人不患貧，貞女不事媚」; critical comments also include 「苦心雕琢易，出口渾成難」 and 「道合天心易，篇終鬼膽寒」, followed by the judgment that only one deeply versed in poetry could express them.

Works

He authored 《霞外集》, also titled 《霞外詩集》.